As a new cook, it took me a fair amount of time to figure out quantities and the very elusive 'aandaj' that all the mom's swear by. In my kitchen there was too little or too much. It was a rare occurrence to not have any leftovers. Over the years I have got my list of leftover utilisation things.
The first things which gets left over most especially during a big dinner is rice. And it is probably the most versatile thing to be reused.
Here are some quick recipes ( and I mean quick!) to help you get over the guilt of throwing stuff into the bin.
Lemon rice - for 2-3 cups of cooked rice, take 2 tbsp of oil in a pan.
When the oil is hot, add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp urad daal, 2 green chillies slit lengthwise and curry leaves if you have any.
Let them splutter for 1 minute.
Then add a pinch of turmeric and mix well.
Now add the rice and mix with the oil.
I would suggest adding about 1 and 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice for 1 cup of rice. But the extent of tanginess is totally up to you.
Add salt to taste in the end.
Coriander rice
In 2 tbsp of oil add coriander seeds
When they splutter add 4-5 tbsp of coriander chutney/paste.
I generally have the coriander chutney frozen in ice cubes and add 1 ice cube for 2 cups of rice.
Add the rice almost immediately after adding the coriander paste.
Add salt to taste and mix well.
The second thing which I reuse is daal.
I make the chapati dough with the daal instead of water. You can even add some ground spices like chaat masala, roasted cumin powder to make it into a spicy yet healthier roti option. Do remember to add salt to the flour before adding the dal. This would your 'aandaj' or estimate considering that daal already has salt in it.
Another option which is certainly not quick is to make daal pakode.
If the daal is very thick and of toor variety you can actually cook it in a pan till all water evaporates. And you are left with a very dry mixture. To this I add sattu (in absence of that roast besan on a pan), chopped coriander, chopped chillies, chat masala and salt. You can add an egg or cornflour to allow binding. But if you have got the consistency right in the daal you would not need any binding agent.
Roll into tikkies and shallow fry them.
Other quick tips are
Over ripened tomatoes I use for making tomato chutney
Leftover vegetables make good sandwich fillers.
If you hate over-ripened banana as much as I do, the best way to them is in a cake or make a Banoffe Pie.
Leftover spinach can be dunked in boiling water and pureed to make the dough for roti. You can make a spinach parantha or just roti out of it.
An expired carton of milk is ideal for trying out the sandesh or rasogulla.
If you like pita bread, leftover curries can be used with roasted vegetables in a pita bread with some fresh salad for a quick and easy dinner.
Extra chicken pieces from a curry can be used to make scrumptious chicken egg roll. (recipe in later editions!)
And finally, stale bread, roasted or fried with a sprinkle of garlic salt to use as croutons.
I hope these may help you in becoming more savvy with the leftovers and allowing for better of your cooking time.
The first things which gets left over most especially during a big dinner is rice. And it is probably the most versatile thing to be reused.
Here are some quick recipes ( and I mean quick!) to help you get over the guilt of throwing stuff into the bin.
Lemon rice - for 2-3 cups of cooked rice, take 2 tbsp of oil in a pan.
When the oil is hot, add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp urad daal, 2 green chillies slit lengthwise and curry leaves if you have any.
Let them splutter for 1 minute.
Then add a pinch of turmeric and mix well.
Now add the rice and mix with the oil.
I would suggest adding about 1 and 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice for 1 cup of rice. But the extent of tanginess is totally up to you.
Add salt to taste in the end.
Coriander rice
In 2 tbsp of oil add coriander seeds
When they splutter add 4-5 tbsp of coriander chutney/paste.
I generally have the coriander chutney frozen in ice cubes and add 1 ice cube for 2 cups of rice.
Add the rice almost immediately after adding the coriander paste.
Add salt to taste and mix well.
The second thing which I reuse is daal.
I make the chapati dough with the daal instead of water. You can even add some ground spices like chaat masala, roasted cumin powder to make it into a spicy yet healthier roti option. Do remember to add salt to the flour before adding the dal. This would your 'aandaj' or estimate considering that daal already has salt in it.
Another option which is certainly not quick is to make daal pakode.
If the daal is very thick and of toor variety you can actually cook it in a pan till all water evaporates. And you are left with a very dry mixture. To this I add sattu (in absence of that roast besan on a pan), chopped coriander, chopped chillies, chat masala and salt. You can add an egg or cornflour to allow binding. But if you have got the consistency right in the daal you would not need any binding agent.
Roll into tikkies and shallow fry them.
Other quick tips are
Over ripened tomatoes I use for making tomato chutney
Leftover vegetables make good sandwich fillers.
If you hate over-ripened banana as much as I do, the best way to them is in a cake or make a Banoffe Pie.
Leftover spinach can be dunked in boiling water and pureed to make the dough for roti. You can make a spinach parantha or just roti out of it.
An expired carton of milk is ideal for trying out the sandesh or rasogulla.
If you like pita bread, leftover curries can be used with roasted vegetables in a pita bread with some fresh salad for a quick and easy dinner.
Extra chicken pieces from a curry can be used to make scrumptious chicken egg roll. (recipe in later editions!)
And finally, stale bread, roasted or fried with a sprinkle of garlic salt to use as croutons.
I hope these may help you in becoming more savvy with the leftovers and allowing for better of your cooking time.
